UCD professor wins IRC researcher of the year
Prof Carel le Roux of University College Dublin (UCD), who is an expert on how “the gut talks to the brain” to inform safer and more effective treatments of obesity, has won the overall prize at the Irish Research Council Researcher of the Year Awards.
Prof le Roux’s work investigates how the brain controls hunger and satiety, while studying signals from the gut sent via hormones or neurons after a meal.
His studies have focused on the impact of diet, exercise, medication and surgery, including bariatric surgery, on enhancing gut-brain signalling for the management and treatment of the disease of obesity.
Prof le Roux was the recipient of a €600,000 IRC Laureate funding award in 2018, which he credits with having enabled him to go on to lead the development of a €16 million European project titled SOPHIA (Stratification of Obesity Phenotypes to Optimize Future Obesity Therapy) of which the SFI research centre APC Microbiome was a participant. This project is addressing obesity and its complications such as type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Prof le Roux has also studied unintentional weight loss in patients who have had surgical treatments that have placed their oesophageal cancer into remission. In this instance, his work has focused on ways of controlling signals from the gut to the brain to allow patients to increase their hunger and food intake, thus improving their health and quality of life.
Anna Davies, who is Professor of Geography, Environment & Society at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), was presented with the impact award this year for her longstanding commitment to world-class research that focuses on facilitating action for a more sustainable society.
Prof Davies is a previous winner of the overall IRC researcher of the year award, which she received in 2018 for her work in environmental governance and sustainability.
Her work has seen her develop an interactive platform for a social innovation project she leads titled Share City, which documents and connects more than 4,000 food sharing initiatives across 100 cities.
Prof Davies was awarded an ERC research award and a subsequent public engagement award for the five-year Share City project, and this year she was awarded an ERC ‘proof of concept’ grant to support testing of the initiative.
Director of the Irish Research Council Peter Brown said: “It’s important to shine a light on the remarkable achievements of our top researchers and on the leading-edge work they are spearheading at national, community, European and international level. Their work reflects the exceptional contributions they make in their respective fields, and in finding innovative solutions and ways of improving the world and people’s lives.
“The Irish Research Council Researcher of the Year winners demonstrate why research matters, and of the vital need for continued support in all fields of research, from science and technology to social sciences and the humanities.”
TechCentral Reporters
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers